Rebel Red Biker Aesthetic

Societal upheaval takes no prisoners. For our petrol-chugging, two-wheeled friends, this means the roadside shacks that offer little more than pool tables under a haze of smoke are also a thing of the past. No; nowadays, the discerning biker heads to Red Room. In an area of Jiangning with not a lot else of interest to the average expat other than a large French supermarket, and as the brainchild of partners in crime Simon Oliver (U.K.) and Danny Alfiero (Canada), Red Room opened up its doors just before Chinese New Year.

With Oliver’s Skyteam Scrambler sitting on the pavement outside, Red Room certainly walks the walk, both as a no-nonsense bar, but also as stylish biker hangout. Yet, the vibe that strikes most at Red Room is the friendly atmosphere in which all creed and colour is made to feel part of the family.

Onto the business end of things. German beer on tap and the usual suspects from Belguim are joined by some true rarities that make Red Room such a standout, including four different varieties of Tennents, a Scottish staple that I have never before seen in China, accompanied by others equally new to Nanjing; Isaac Baladin from Italy, in addition to two Spanish imports; Trolls plus Africca.

Finally, as a kind of rite of passage, keep a watchful eye on the cocktail preparation; you may well be in for a house shot that is positively embryonic, yet hits the spot nicely.

Decor-wise, the designer biker bar theme is continued in artwork by Ukrainian, Zhenjiang-based expat Tetiana Vankhalska. No stock photos, no vintage knock offs bought on Taobao here; on the walls of Red Room is where heavy metal and bikers sit most comfortably together, in what is the bar’s very own Hell Rider.

With entertaining tales of the bar’s establishment fanning the flames of brother and sisterhood; of kitchen fires and the ironic desire to ask the neighbours to turn it down, Red Room’s partners told The Nanjinger of surprisingly little issue with the authorities; perhaps local officialdom would be approving of a few more startups of this nature in the area.

Editor-in-chief and Music Critic, Frank Hossack, has been a radio host and producer for the past 34 years, the past 25 of which working in media in China, in the process winning four New York Festivals awards for his work, in the categories Best Top 40 Format, Best Editing, Best Director and Best Culture & The Arts.
贺福是我们杂志的编辑和音乐评论员，在过去的34年里一直从事电台主持和电台制片的工作。在中国有近25年的媒体工作经验。工作期间他曾经四次获得过纽约传媒艺术节大奖，分别是世界前40强节目奖，最佳编辑奖，最佳导演奖以及最佳文化艺术奖。

The Nanjinger is the English media of record for the city of Nanjing in Jiangsu province, China.
This website is part of The Nanjinger brand, 100 percent owned and operated by SinoConnexion Ltd., a UK media company registered in 2008, and its subsidiary in China; Nanjing Hefu Cultural Media Co. Ltd. 南京贺福文化传媒有限公司.
The Nanjinger brand name comprises four publications plus a host of social media pages and is the only group of English publications offering high visibility online and print media in and around Nanjing.